Some of the most powerful players in the world of bitcoin say recent moves by Chinese regulators targeting use of the virtual currency will not stall its long-term rise.

Key points:

Chinese investors have seized virtual control of the crypto-currency

Huge computer 'mining' farms in rural China have contributed to this influence

China has stepped up efforts to regulate bitcoin, leading to large value fluctuations

Through sheer weight of numbers, Chinese investors have seized virtual control of the highly valuable crypto-currency in recent years, with huge computer 'mining' farms in remote areas playing a crucial role.

At the start of this year, more than 90 per cent of daily trade for bitcoin was being made in Chinese yuan.

But that has fallen, as China's Central Bank, the PBOC, started taking a series of regulatory measures to rein in the use of bitcoin.

"The PBOC can potentially have very strong control over the price of bitcoin, at least in the short term, because it can effectively cut the money flow involved in bitcoin trading," said Jihan Wu, one of the most prominent figures in the global bitcoin community.

His company also administers Antpool, one of the biggest bitcoin mining collectives, along with several computer 'mines' in China's remote western areas where electricity is cheaper.

"Potentially [the PBOC] could shut down all the Chinese bitcoin exchanges", he said.

"But I don't think the Chinese Government will do very aggressive regulation over bitcoin.

"I just think they want to control the risk for those investors who don't have enough knowledge about bitcoin."

Chinese moves impacting highly volatile currency

In February, Chinese regulators forced two major Chinese bitcoin exchanges to temporarily halt withdrawals while they upgraded anti money-laundering measures.

While that wiped almost a third off bitcoin's value, it has rebounded to hit new highs — peaking in March at $US1,290, before taking a hit when a US-based plan for a publicly listed bitcoin electronic trading fund was knocked back by regulators.